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Thursday, May 14, 2009

Talking Football With Schultzie

And really, if you had the opportunity to sit down and talk football with Schultz---especially over a cold one or two---wouldn't you want to do it???Schultz helps grow gridiron game at minor football dinnerEstevan Mercury Sports Byline: Brad BrownThe rivalry between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers has rarely needed jump-starting over the years.So when new Winnipeg head coach Mike Kelly referred to Regina as the "crotch of Canada" at an April press conference, it left veteran 'Riders defensive lineman Scott Schultz shaking his head."[We'd] be the balls because I think there's a bunch of ballsy people out here," he joked in an interview Saturday."I don't know, I think comments like that are idiotic and that coach definitely stumbled a little bit by trying to endear himself to his fans but not taking into consideration that he's a public figure. He doesn't want to end up like [former Bombers kicker Troy] Westwood, right?"Less than a month out from the start of Roughriders training camp, Schultz was at the Days Inn Plaza as the guest speaker for Estevan Minor Football's second annual fundraising dinner.His commitment to growing the game, however, goes far beyond his public speaking appearances. A number of current and former Roughriders will join him for the sixth annual Scott Schultz Football Camp, scheduled for May 30-31 in Moose Jaw."I never played minor football, I was too fat," he said. "They had the weight limits, right? I was always a big kid and I wasn't going to be like a wrestler and cut weight to play football so I didn't start playing until high school ... [but football has] meant everything."It was the catalyst for me to get an education ... I met my wife while I was at school, I've got two beautiful kids, then getting to the professional ranks and being able to do it as a job. It can be life changing."One of the reasons I want to get out and do that is just to get the awareness up about minor football and get kids involved."Schultz limited his comments about Saskatchewan's off-season roster moves, except to say that he hopes to see recently-released receiver Matt Dominguez back in a 'Riders uniform sooner than later.A Western Division all-star in 2006, Dominguez was released in March after suffering the third major knee injury of his career last season."He's just hoping that they give him an opportunity and get something worked out," said Schultz. "I don't think he's got a ton to prove but if he has anything to prove to the coaches, I think that will be rectified and he could be a star for sure as long as he's healthy."The Roughriders open training camp June 7. Their first exhibition game is scheduled for June 17 and they will host the B.C. Lions in their regular-season opener July 3.------One other CFL note. Word out of Winnipeg is the Bombers have acquired Kelly Bates from the Lions. The Humboldt product is another one of the good guys in this game. That BC o-line certainly appears as if won't be as strong this year with guys like Bates and Murphy leaving Wally's domain.

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About Me

This is mainly a Regina sports blog, but you will get information and thoughts from me on a number of topics some that aren't even sports related. You can see me on Access 7 in Regina co-hosting a local one hour sports program called Locker Talk highlighting Regina sports. You can hear me reading afternoon news and sports on 620 CKRM in Regina along with co-hosting "Sportscage" on same station from time to time. I'm also a part of Sask Roughriders broadcast on CKRM and I write feature articles for the Riders on their website Riderville.com.